Contribution
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank my colleague and neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer), for securing this important debate.
In Aylesbury and across the country, transport is not just about moving people from one place to another; it is central to our economy, future growth and the wellbeing and opportunities in our communities today. Coaches have a particularly important role to play, and I pay tribute to all the operators in my area, including Masons coaches, Motts Travel, Redline and Star Travel. They connect Aylesbury with the surrounding rural communities and vice versa; support schools and colleges, as we have heard; provide transport for community groups; and help residents access leisure, cultural, sporting and tourism opportunities. Alongside our rail and bus networks, these coaches are vital in so many ways.
Last week, I caught up with the brilliant Candice Mason from Masons coaches in my constituency to discuss the challenges facing the business and the sector. Sadly, the picture is not looking great. Masons is planning to reduce its fleet from 28 coaches to fewer than 20, because the costs on the business have skyrocketed. Workshop costs are up from £50,000 to £90,000 per year before covid to £330,000 now. Insurance has risen sharply, and the business is spending £8,000 per week on diesel. That is on top of rising energy costs and national insurance, minimum wage and business rates. Those pressures are felt not just by Masons but by small and medium-sized enterprises across Buckinghamshire, which are the backbone of our economy.
What does better engagement and support from Government for the coach industry look like? I want to share three suggestions. The first point is about transport and planning policy, because that is where it all starts. Too often, local planning decisions overlook the practical needs of coaches. The result is poor parking, poor drop-off and pick-up facilities, a lack of suitable rest areas for drivers and so on. If we want coaches to support our local communities, planning guidance has to recognise them as a distinct mode of transport, while local authorities and visitor destinations have to be encouraged to provide appropriate facilities for coach operators and their passengers. That could help to tackle the increased congestion on our roads, but it could also have a beneficial impact on the environment, given that a single coach can remove dozens of cars from the road and significantly reduce emissions per passenger. Within transport planning, accessibility must also be front and centre. I know that the coach sector strongly supports making travel more accessible for disabled passengers and older people, but it must not just be about the coaches themselves; it must also be about the wider adaptations across the whole journey, including suitable boarding areas, kerbside spaces, level access points and so on.
The second issue is the skills shortage in the coach sector. Around 14% of posts remain vacant, and nearly a quarter of drivers are thought to be over the age of 60 and close to retirement. Masons has highlighted that it is hard to attract new drivers, particularly because of insurance restrictions that mean it can no longer teach and train newly qualified drivers, but also because of wider issues with the industry and struggles to attract women. I would like to know what the Minister thinks about that.
The third suggestion is about costs. So many of our coach operators are local, family-run SMEs. They play a vital role in employing and training up local people, purchasing from other businesses and paying taxes and national insurance, and yet they are having to absorb increasing costs. I ask the Minister what he can do to address that, whether through targeted support when SMEs experience fast-rising costs beyond their control or through grants or transitional funding when Government regulation—for example, on accessibility—requires new investment. As we have heard, the coach industry would particularly welcome support with fuel costs, through similar mechanisms to those available elsewhere in passenger transport.
Coaches are too often the forgotten part of our transport network, and yet they are vital. A thriving coach sector is not just a luxury but a necessity in Aylesbury, the villages and across the country, and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s thoughts.